In prison and on release

Probation work in prisons

We have staff seconded to a number of prisons in the North East region.
Probation staff work alongside prison staff in offender management
units, contributing to the assessment and management of offenders as
they progress through the custodial element of their sentence. This
includes:

Involvement in the sentence planning process to ensure that
appropriate objectives are set for each offender to address the
factors underlying their offending and the risks they pose to others.

The production of a variety of reports to assess suitabilitty for
release.

Liaison with the police, probation and other relevant agencies under
Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements to ensure that appropriate
plans are in place to manage high risk offenders upon release.

Release on licence

Most offenders do not serve the whole of their sentence in custody. At a
set stage, they are released to serve the rest of their sentence in the
community, supervised by probation staff, known as being ‘on licence’.

All offenders are assessed to determine any risk they might pose to
staff, other offenders or to the public after release.

Offenders serving prison sentences under 12 months are not subject to
any statutory supervision, when they are released.

All offenders sentenced to 12 months or more are usually supervised by
us when they come out of prison on licence. Offenders must attend
regular appointments with probation staff, complete any work that is set
for them, give us information about where they live & work and comply
with any other conditions of the licence. This might include
restrictions on their movements and behaviour.

Probation staff can ask to include extra specific conditions in some
licences, including:

Where the offender must live.

Attendance on treatment programmes relating to their offending
behaviour.

Not visiting specific areas or making contact with certain people.

Not living in a house with children under a certain age.

Any offender who breaks the rules of their licence will be returned to
prison to finish their sentence.

Resettlement

When offenders leave prison, the restrictions they are given depends on
the risk they pose. To maintain public safety, probation staff in the
community work closely with other agencies to plan for the offender’s
safe return to the community and their ongoing supervision. We work to
help them achieve stable, crime free lives, which can help reduce the
chances of further offending when they are released. We offer practical
assistance with accommodation and employment and motivate offenders to
pursue their goals on release from custody.